Tax season has arrived

AARP tax preparers provide invaluable service to community

Alamogordo Daily NewsJohn Bear, Staff Writer

Posted:
02/04/2013 08:38:22 PM MST

Click photo to enlarge

Janice King, center, district coordinator and tax counselor for AARP Tax Aide Alamogordo, works on Michelle Sapp's, right, tax papers. Also pictured is tax counselor Norm Renfrow, who also helped Sapp with her taxes.

Janice King, district coordinator and tax counselor, said so many people showed up the first day that they were turning people away at the door.

The service -- which began Monday and runs through April 15 -- is available Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

King said tax counselors go through training and must pass Internal Revenue Service tests before they are allowed to be tax preparers. Volunteers called client facilitators, who help fill out paperwork before people see a tax counselor, also go through training, she said.

She said that all tax returns go through a quality control process and King herself files the returns with the IRS electronically at the end of each day.

According to information provided by Tax Aide, people with overly complicated returns and small business owners with employees or depreciation might not be eligible for the service.

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People seeking the service should bring in photo identification, a Social Security card, W-2 forms, income and expenses for people who are self-employed; interest, dividends, stock or CD sales; Social Security statements, unemployment W2-G forms, gambling winnings or losses; and pensions.

People should also bring information on expenses related to child care, college or vocational training, medical expenses, charitable donations, mortgage interest and property taxes and direct deposit slips.

It takes about eight to 10 business days to receive a direct deposit tax refund, according to Tax Aide. Returns can also be sent in the mail.

King said Tax Aide can help people pay back taxes in addition to taxes from the current tax year.

Alamogordo resident Rita Torres said she had been waiting to get her taxes done for several hours Monday, but didn't mind the long wait because the service is invaluable.

She said she and her husband have used the service for several years and have even gotten to know some of the volunteers.

"They do a great job," Torres said. "We've never had any problems since we started having them do it."

Contact John Bear at jbear@alamogordonews.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnbearwithme